INDIANAPOLIS – The same UCLA defense that cramps everyone like a Gemini capsule found itself lost in space here Monday night.

Lost in the yawn of the Dome. Lost in the vortex of a tornadic Florida offense. Just plain spaced out, in every sense, and then eclipsed by a earthship named Joakim Noah, who blocked six Bruins shots and all of their dreams.

Getting to the NCAA championship game is no fun when you play it like this. America barely noticed as the Bruins ground out 32 victories. Everyone watched them get comprehensively spanked by the Gators, 73-57. And celebration in Westwood suddenly turns into difficult rationalization.

“That’s just a team that executed,” Cedric Bozeman said. “They got the ball to the right people. All of them could pass. Their bigs were better than the ones we’d played before. They passed it to each other and dunked. They’re just a great team, that’s all you can say.”

There’s always a team out there like Florida, someone who defies your matchups. In the first few minutes it was clear that Bozeman couldn’t handle Gators point guard Taurean Green, and that Arron Afflalo, who usually defuses the top weapon, wasn’t quick or rangy enough to stay with Corey Brewer.

UCLA’s defense is renowned for shrinking the half court, for swarming the ball and eating up space. Florida’s offense knew that. Thanks to the dexterous Green, who made only two turnovers all weekend, the Gators expanded the half-court and pried open cracks in UCLA.

Brewer would run the baseline, take Afflalo into a pick by one of the Gator bigs, then curl and attack the hoop.

Or Green would beat an assortment of Bruins guards and collapse the house.

Or Noah would take a pass at the side of the lane, wait for the double-team and hit Al Horford, who would propel a no-footer through the rim and into the floor.

It was always something, and UCLA didn’t so much adjust as plug another leak in the boat.

“We just made too many mistakes on defense,” Darren Collison said. “We broke down a lot with our help. But they knew what they were doing. And Noah was a monster inside. Both big guys, they were just going after everything.”

“Those guys,” Bozeman said, meaning Noah and Horford, “are going to make a lot of money before long.”

Down 11 at halftime, UCLA tried to recall its habitual out-of-the-gate bursts. The Bruins did it at Cal to wrap up the Pac-10 title, for instance. Instead, they violated their first defensive rule of the night and lost the location of Lee Humphrey, the 46 percent three-point shooter. Humphrey broke down court on transition and banged an open three, then drained another on the next possession, both from Green. That made it 42-25. The Bruins never got closer than 12.

“There were several times when I thought we were about to make a run,” Bozeman said. “But every time we did, they had answers.”

Finally, Florida stationed the 6-foot-11 Noah out front with Green on a classic high pick-and-roll. With the other Gators sufficiently spaced to remove UCLA’s help, Noah would pick for Green, take a pass, and see a football field open for him – and Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t in the building.

(Peyton Manning was. Unofficially, Florida is 6-0 when he’s on hand.)

“Noah got the ball in space, and he can make plays when he does that,” assistant coach Donny Daniels said. “He could drive or pass or do anything he wanted.”

Eventually UCLA had to escape its shell and press full-court, which turned into dunking practice for Horford.

All of you who said UCLA would eventually get pounded through the paint and into the basement? You finally got it right. In the first half Noah, Horford and Adrian Moss were 6 for 9. Ryan Hollins, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboya and Lorenzo Mata were 2 for 17. Noah and Horford had six blocks in that half, eight overall.

“One block became two, two became three,” Daniels said.

“But we didn’t shot-fake, didn’t take our time,” Bozeman said. “They just sped us up all over the court.”

Well, as bad as college hoops is these days, no recent NCAA champs would have handled Florida easily. The Gators came into this game averaging a 16-point victory margin in the tournament, and they won this one by 16. The five previous victims shot 34.4 percent. UCLA shot 36.1.

The Gators had 21 assists on 26 baskets and made only six turnovers.

And Moss is the only senior, although it strains the imagination to think that Noah or Horford will pass up the NBA draft.

For UCLA, it’s a 2-by-4 in the face that should keep them pumping iron and shooting jumpers deep into the night this summer. Florida invited Mbah a Moute to hit the 18-footer, and the ball kept hitting the rim like a sledgehammer. The Bruins will improve in direct proportion to how well Mbah a Moute fixes that. Bozeman and Ryan Hollins leave the program, but as long as Afflalo and Jordan Farmar stay, the Bruins will be top-five in the November polls. They also will return to the days when UCLA fans begin organizing lynching parties after each loss.

“Our guys know how hard it is to get here,” Daniels said. “Now they know how hard it is to win this game. Everything they do this spring and summer will be designed toward getting back here again. You never know if it’ll happen.”

Now the Bruins disappear from public view. It’s time to give them their space … ah, check that.

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